College Life With Solo
by RandomGeek18
Summary: Rey makes a new acquaintance that she doesn't know what to make of. Basically them running into each other at odd times and the craziness that ensues. - MODERN AU - FLUFF - REYLO -
1. Energy Drink

**A/N: So this is going to be a collection of short chapters that have somewhat of a plot but will mostly be fluff. I will try to update every Thursday. If you have any ideas for their interactions, please send them over! I love getting prompts. Enjoy!  
**

She starts off her day much like the rest of her college experience; frantic and running on two hours of sleep. Her two roommates are lucky enough to be able to sleep in but that just means she has to make her way around their dorm quieter than normal which is not as easy as it sounds, especially when you are having to rush. She forgoes any makeup today, too tired to even try, and just throws on a sweatshirt with a pair of leggings, pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. She slips on a pair of converse, hoping they're the same color since she can't turn on the lights to check, and grabs her worn out messenger bag. She hurries out onto campus, quickly checking her shoe choice, accompanied by the recently risen sun.

"Early morning classes should be illegal." She mumbles, jumping out of the way of a bicyclist. "Mostly because it'll make people do illegal things." She glares at the back of the speedster and hops up the stairs of the building that holds her dreaded class. Her presence is hardly noticed by the scattering of other students and she quickly slips into a seat near the back. Even though she is five minutes late, the professor hasn't arrived yet. "Figures." She huffs, pulling out her textbook, notebook, and pencil. A cup of coffee would be very pleasing for her at the moment but unfortunately, she woke up much too late to even think about it. Her forearm makes a decently comfortable pillow as she rests, thinking about catching a few winks before the professor shows up. Just as she is about to doze off, the door opens at the front of the classroom and in walks Mr. Snoke with his ever present snarl. He begins unpacking his briefcase as though he's the only one in the room and isn't fifteen minutes late. At the same time, the door Rey entered early flies open as a flustered fellow junior rushes in.

"Mr. Solo." Professor Snoke's voice bellows through the classroom. "Tardiness will not be tolerated in this class." He scolds, as though he himself were not late.

Rey rolls her eyes at the hypocrisy. Snoke is her least favorite professor and the same can be said for just about everyone on campus, the rest of the faculty included.

"Sorry, Mr. Snoke. Won't happen again." Solo replies as he slides into a seat two adjacent from Rey. A huff is the only response he gets.

As the professor begins his lecture, Rey's attention is drawn to the new arrival. His body seems to be folded into the desk, his tall stature and spindly legs having a hard time with the small desk. His dark hair is stuffed under a similarly black beanie, a few strands trying to escape in every direction, and he's got a bit of scruff on his chin she finds surprisingly attractive. His eyes are red, like he hasn't slept in two days and Rey nearly laughs aloud as she notices his shirt is on inside out. As he reaches around to grab his backpack, she can tell he is rather well defined, if his biceps are any indication. When he straightens up, he catches her eye and gives her a lopsided smirk.

"Hey." He mouths.

She gives him a small, silly wave.

"I'm probably going to die," he whispers, "so here's to you." He pops open an energy drink, pours it into a cup of coffee, and chugs the whole thing.

 **A/N: Don't worry, they will eventually get together, patience my padawans.**


	2. The Dark

After pulling a double shift at work, Rey is completely wiped and ready to sleep a whole day away. Fortunately, she doesn't have any classes tomorrow so she can if she wants. It's nearing midnight as she's nearing her dorm. The lights in this area of campus are always going out and tonight is no different. It's relatively quiet around with most people sleeping, while they can, or studying till their eyes bleed. She yawns deeply, grumbling about her phone being dead and thus being unable to act as a flashlight. As she rounds a corner, she hears footsteps pounding towards her. She looks up, making out a rather large figure running straight at her. Her eyes widen in fear as her sleep deprived brain insists that this person is out to kill her, eat her, wear her skin as a coat; basically every bad thing imaginable. As he draws closer, she screams, startling him.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry." He stops in front of her. "I didn't see you." He assures her.

She looks up at him relieved but still wary, "Wait…I know you."

"Mmm. That is unfortunate." He muses.

"You're the energy drink guy…Solo, right?" she smiles lightly as he laughs.

"Ah, yes." He runs a hand through his already disheveled hair, his breathing returning to normal. Rey takes in his appearance. Converse, loose jeans, and a hoodie. Not exactly a normal running outfit. Her brain reminds her that normal people also don't go for a run at midnight.

"Why were you running?" she questions, trying not to feel like a hobbit next to him.

He smiles sheepishly, a blush creeping into his cheeks, "Well, I'm kinda scared of the dark."

She smirks, "Well, in that case, I suppose I can forgive you for scaring the crap out of me."

"I do apologize. I'm not used to anyone else being around and, and-"

"It's cool. Sorry for screaming at you." It's her turn to blush as she realizes how much she overreacted.

"No worries." he waves a hand at her.

Her thoughts turn back to the bed awaiting her. "I'll, ah, see you around, Solo." She starts making her way to her dorm again.

"Ben." He calls after her. "The name's Ben."

She turns around, shaking her head, "Nah, Solo sounds much cooler, like a spy, which suites you if you're gonna keep creeping around in the dark."

He smirks before taking off into the dark again.

 **A/N: Another short chapter but I promise they will start getting longer. Please drop a review if you like it or a prompt if you've got one.**


	3. Library Shenanigans

**A/N: Sorry it's a day late! This one, though, is a bit longer and I actually like it a lot. Let me know what you think!**

She stretches as best she can in the uncomfortable library chair, four books strewn across the table in front of her. She's been here for nearly an hour, every few minutes casting a glance up to the person seated across and one chair over from her. It's Solo; energy drink, night time terror guy. Neither have acknowledged the other, both dutifully studying. Or at least appearing to do so. Rey can't focus on her work. Her thoughts are consumed by the new acquaintance she has acquired and how odd he is but in an intriguing sort of way.

Ben, well he's just trying not to drool on his text book. His eyelids keep drooping shut, the words in front of him are blurring, and his brain is beginning to pull him into unconsciousness. _Maybe just a few minutes,_ he thinks, resting his head in the crook of his elbow. Soon enough he is out. His arm slowly relaxes, dropping squarely onto one of Rey's open books. She doesn't notice until she gets ready to leave.

"You have got to be kidding me." She whispers. She packs up everything else, trying to figure out how to get the offending arm off without waking him. She knows the struggle of catching up on sleep whenever you get the chance. They have a relationship of mutual understanding. At least that's how she imagines it. Even though they've only interacted three times, including this, and conversed really only once, Rey finds herself strangely attached to him and thus would feel awful about waking him up. She smirks as she comes up with a better idea and pulls out a marker from her bag. She quietly makes her way over, half of his face laid bare. As she uncaps the marker, she slips into the seat next to him. Ever so carefully, she begins drawing on his face everything from a mustache to flowers to a little poop emoji. He stays asleep and still the whole while, his eyes only fluttering open when a student passing by laughs at Rey's shenanigans. As their eyes meet, hers and Ben's, she's silently struck with how beautiful they are. She was never close enough to him, nor paying enough attention, to really see them, to see how deep and inviting they are. As they swirl in front of her, all she can think about is how much they resemble the coffee she so insanely craves in the morning. His cough drops her out of their staring competition and she sits back, hiding her marker.

"May I help you?" he smirks, his head still resting against his arm. "Trying to cheat?"

"Ah, no." she stands, reaching over to grab her book, letting his hand fall unceremoniously onto the hard table. "I was just rescuing my book, thank you."

"Oh." He sits up, looking dejected. "Sorry."

"It's okay. At least you didn't drool on mine." She teases, slipping her bag over her shoulder. She laughs over her shoulder as he shoots up, trying to rub the drool from his textbook, groaning. "Oh, no, I'd be more worried about your face." she adds. She quickens her steps, hoping to be lost to him before he finds out about her art project. She isn't so lucky. As she's descending the steps outside the library, he comes barreling down after her, nearly tripping over himself. He jumps to a stop on the last step, forcing her to come up short.

"That was not cool, sunshine." he's barely holding in a smile.

"Neither was holding my book captive." she shrugs. "I'd like to think we're even."

"Oh, no, no, no. I was not consciously hijacking your book. You will pay for this." He crosses his arms and even though he's two steps below her, their eyes are about level, him still being a little bit taller.

"Mmhmm. And how are you going to go about doing that? You don't even know me." she adjusts the strap on her shoulder. Four books plus supplies gets heavy.

"You'd like to think that." he smirks. "I happen to know quite a bit about you, Miss Rey."

Her surprise brings a satisfied smile to his face. "How...how do you know my name?"

"Well, I have a certain roommate that works with a certain facial artist." he waves up and down at her at the last part. "Poe certainly likes to talk once you prompt him enough."

"Dameron." she huffs and cocks an eyebrow. "And how much did your _roommate_ tell you?"

"Oh, ho, ho, now wouldn't you like to know." he gives his trademark smirk and turns his back on her. "Just know that I'll be seeing you around, sunshine." and off he saunters, leaving Rey reeling from their conversation.

 **A/N: Things are getting interesting *wiggles eyebrows* See you guys next week!**


	4. Glitter

"This is ridiculous! How much glitter do you actually need?" Rey looks down at the bucket of sparkly, gold flakes sitting excitedly at her feet.

"Oh, shut up and just bring it down to Finn's room. We don't have a lot of time; he'll be back in an hour." her roommate shouts from the next room.

"This prank better be worth it." she hollers back before picking up the bucket and exiting their dorm room.

Phasma, one of Rey's roommates, is pranking her boyfriend Finn and decided to pull Rey in on it. Rey, of course, doesn't mind. She's always down for a good prank, especially if it's on the boys in room 2187. She just isn't sure how well this one is going to work out. She picks up the bucket anyway and heads out.

Campus is pretty crowded, with it being a weekend and such a beautiful day. As she dodges a few oblivious freshmen, she trips over a crack in the pavement and the bucket of glitter goes flying out of her hands. It would have been bad enough for it to just to land on the ground, wasting all the precious glitter, but no, luck would not let Rey have it so easy. The overabundance of sparkly bits land on none other than Mr. Solo. Rey stops short, her breathing coming up short.

"Holy crap." she mumbles, embarrassment radiating off of her.

He seemed to have just been finishing a run; sweaty, shirtless, and smirking. "Well, this is certainly new."

"I…you…it…ahhhh. I'm so sorry." She stutters.

Ben just shrugs, "It's all good. I was actually just on my way to audition for Twilight, so thanks."

Rey laughs aloud at that, "Well, you do look good in glitter."

He nods and looks at her as though he's known that his whole life, "You bet I do!"

"Let me at least help you clean it up." She offers.

"What, you gonna douse me in a bucket of water now? You sure know how to woo a guy, sunshine." He smirks and she refrains from slapping his arm.

"No, my dorm room isn't far from here and I was just going to let you use a wet towel or something if you wanted but if you're going to be a smart-aleck about it, nevermind." And off she walks.

He sprints in front of her and starts walking backwards in order to continue their conversation. "Now, now, no need to be hasty." He smiles.

"That's what I though." She chuckles, "I'm sorry. It's just, I can't take you seriously looking like that."

He looks down at his arms like they are normal as all get out. "What? I'm telling you, this is going to be the new trend around campus, give it a few months and everyone will be wearing glitter. Just you wait." He wags a finger at her.

"Uhuh. Whatever you say, Solo." She walks past him and into the open doorway of her room. He quickly follows.

Phasma turns around at the sound of their arrival. "You back al-oh, hi there." She stares at Ben before narrowing her eyes at him. "Is that what I think it is?"

Ben twirls around for her. "Do you like it? Mark my words, it's the-"

"Rey!" she cuts him off, turning on her roommate. "Did you waste my glitter on this guy?" she gestures to Ben.

Rey throws her hands up in surrender, "Listen, it was an accident. I tripped over the pavement and he so heroically caught the glitter for me. He just, um, can't give it back at the moment."

Phasma has to crack a smile, "Well, I can't very well balance him on top of Finn's door. I'll have to go get some more." She grabs her purse from the couch. "Just try not to dump anything else on him while I'm gone."

"Ha, ha, ha." Rey calls sarcastically to her friends's receding back as Phasma leaves, shutting the door.

"So, where is this towel that was promised? The glitter is staring to get itchy." Ben smiles down at her.

"Right. I mean, if you want, you can just jump in the shower." She doesn't know why, but saying this makes her blush. It probably doesn't help that she has a toned, half naked guy covered in glitter standing in her room. Yeah, that definitely doesn't help.

"Sure. Just lead the way." He rubs a hand through his hair roughly, sending bits of glitter soaring.

"Yeah, um, just give me a sec, yeah?" she hurries into the bathroom to make sure there aren't any embarrassing items lying around, a clean towel is available, and that the shower is relatively presentable. She exits, gesturing behind her, "You are good to go."

"Thanks." And he makes his way towards the much needed glitter remover.

"Wait." She calls, quickly pulling out her phone and opening her camera.

"Yeah?" he turns around and she snaps a picture.

"Never know when you might need a good blackmail pic." She smirks as he rolls his eyes.

"If you think this is embarrassing for me, sunshine, you got another thing coming."

She just waves a hand at him, "Yeah, yeah, just go take a shower."

He saunters into the bathroom and Rey flops onto her bed, pulling out her laptop.

The shower only runs a few minutes before shutting off and Ben reemerges, glitterless and rubbing his hair with a towel. Rey sits up, her stomach doing back-flips. She knew bringing him here was going to be a bad idea. He's still shirtless, his muscles rippling with every move he makes, and his hair is a mob of wet, black curls that stick to his handsome face. Rey isn't quite sure what to do but then she notices a glint of gold stuck in the scruff on his chin. She stands and walks towards him.

"You still go a bit…" her voice trails off and she points to his chin.

"Hmm? Where?" he tries looking down at his own face and Rey smiles.

"Here." She stands up on her tip toes and plucks the offending piece of glitter, sending it to ground. She is precariously close to his bare chest and she tries her darndest not let it get to her. If only her feet would cooperate. They decide to off-balance her, making her trip into Ben and thus sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

"Well, this certainly is a day for surprises." Ben smirks up at her causing her to blush intensely.

"I am so sorry."

Before she can pick herself up, the door opens as Phasma returns. "Oh! Geez, Rey, we have the sock rule for a reason!" huffs, but winks at them with a small smile.

"No, no, this isn't what it looks like." Rey tries to reassure her friend.

Phasma just waves her off, tying a red sock to the door handle before slipping back out.

Rey looks down at her increasingly problematic acquaintance, "I'm really starting to not like you."

"Mmm…that's problematic." He smirks at her glare as she stands.

"And why is that?" she sighs.

"Because I'm starting to really like you."

 **A/N: Mmmmhhhmmmm...easily my favorite chapter so far! See you next week!**


	5. Logan

**A/N: Spoiler alert for Logan if any one hasn't see it! (Highly recommend it though if you haven't)**

Rey slips her blue nail polish clad toes into the flip-flops sitting by the door, adjusts the baseball cap, holding the famed Rebels symbol, that sits on her head, and grabs her purse.

"I'll be back late." She calls to Phasma and Bee, who are both in the bathroom getting ready for their double date. "Have fun!"

Bee pops her orange haired head out the doorway. "Come on, Rey, couldn't you come with us?" she pleads. Bee was Rey's first friend at college. At four foot eight, she's the bubbly, sarcastic, cutie pie of the group who can usually get away with anything when she gives you those adorable puppy eyes while rocking back and forth on her heels. It's not going to work for her tonight, though.

"As much as I love you all, I'm not fond of being a fifth wheel." Rey sighs.

"You don't have to be. Just call glitter boy. I know you got a thing for him." Bee winks at her. Leave it to Phasma to tell everyone they know about the incident a few days ago. All of their friends have a significant other at the moment and are all looking to hook Rey up with one. She knows they mean well but wishes they would let her figure it out by herself.

Their conversation draws Phasma out of the bathroom. "Yeah, he seems like a lot of fun!" she adds.

Rey just rolls her eyes as she opens the door, "Guys, we are just friends. Not even that."

Phasma and Bee look at each other with knowing smiles, "Mmhmm. Because 'just friends' rinse off in each other's showers." Bee comments.

Phasma nods in agreement, "Yeah, and are found canoodling on the floor of one's dorm."

"First of all," Rey points a threatening finger at the two of them, "I felt guilty about the glitter mishap and our dorm wasn't far from where it happened. Second, we were not _canoodling,_ whatever the heck that means. What are you, eighty?" She huffs, stepping out into the hall. "I'll see you guys later." And she shuts the door on her roommates.

She makes her way to her car quickly, excited to finally see Logan. There is an old, one screen movie theater just a few miles off campus that she loves going to. It has an enchanting, homey feel to it that the big name theaters just don't have. Traffic is minimal and she makes it to the theater in a little under ten minutes. She pulls into the small parking lot and hurries inside. As she enters, smiling at the girl selling the tickets, she sees a familiar face. "Solo?" she calls before she can stop herself.

He whirls around, large bag of popcorn in hand, and smiles wide when he sees her, "Hey, sunshine!" he saunters over to her, handing money to the waiting employee.

"Wait, what are you doing? No, here. Take this." She tries handing her own money over but it's too late. The girl is already handing Ben his change. Rey takes a few steps forward to make way for the people waiting to get in.

"Why'd you do that?" she crosses her arms, squinting at him.

"Lighten up. Just let someone do something nice for you." he starts making his way towards the screening room. "You comin'?" he looks over his shoulder at her and she relents, following him. He slips into a row right behind a group of people and Rey sighs.

"I hate to be a bother," she starts.

"No you don't." he grins and she just rolls her eyes.

"But not everyone is as tall as you, Mr. Solo. Do you think we could switch to a different row?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry." They exit the row and find one to Rey's liking. They are still pretty early, random adds playing on the screen before them, and Ben offers her some popcorn.

"Um…sure. Thanks." She grabs a few kernels, silently munching on them, awkwardly trying to think of something to say. "Why do you-"

"How's it-"

They both start at the same time, causing Ben to chuckle, which Rey finds enjoyable. "Sorry, go ahead." He gazes down at her and Rey doesn't know what to do with her hands, eyes glued to the screen.

"Just, um, why do you call me sunshine?" She is trying very hard not to think of this encounter as a date, because it really isn't, but I mean he paid for her ticket, they are seated next to each other, and are sharing popcorn. Bee and Phasma would have a field day if they find out about tonight.

He smiles and Rey can't be sure, but she thinks he blushes a little. "I, well, your name is Rey, right?" She laughs and nods. "And you're pretty bright so I guess I figured you're like a ray of sunshine and thus the nickname was born."

"Huh. That's pretty cool." She smiles, appreciating the thoughtfulness of the name, and nabs a few more pieces of popped corn.

"Plus, you are kinda hot." He adds quickly.

She coughs on the buttery kernels in her mouth, "I, uh…um. Thanks." She manages to stutter. The lights dim and previews begin to play. Ben scoots down in his chair, legs bent awkwardly to accommodate his lengthy form, so he is about eye level with Rey. A bright yellow screen illuminates Rey's widening smile and she nearly squeals. Before she realizes what's she doing, she whacks Ben's arm a few times in excitement, "Dude! The Lego Batman movie!"

He just smiles at her, "Oh?"

She looks over, embarrassed, "I know, I know, it's stupid but I'm almost more pumped to see that then Logan."

"No. I actually really want to see it as well."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The lights go out completely and the theater falls silent.

Both are so enthralled by the movie, laughing and wincing at appropriate parts, that they don't realize how close they have gotten, their knees practically touching. Rey can't help the tears that form during Charles' death scene but straightens when she realizes something isn't right. There's no sound anymore. At first she thought maybe it was just a part of the movie, silence to help resonate an emotional part, but after a few minutes, the whole theater is getting grumbly.

"Pretty sure this isn't supposed to happen." Ben mutters.

"Yeah." She agrees before the screen cuts to black. She nearly jumps from her seat.

An employee, the girl that gave them their tickets, walks in and the lights return. "I am really sorry but one of our speakers blew and it looks like we won't be able to fix it tonight. If you make your way towards the exit, I'll be giving a free ticket to everyone. Sorry for the inconvenience." She walks back out toward the entrance, her steps accompanied by the groans of the unsatisfied movie goers.

"What?" Rey moans. "I need the rest of this movie, now!"

Ben chuckles next to her, "Guess I'll have to go home and download it. Completely legally, of course."

"Yeah, well I've got an eyepatch you can borrow for your pirating escapades, if you want." She smiles, following him out and into the lobby where they receive their _admit one_ tickets. She starts walking to her car, him keeping step with her. As she unlocks it and turns to say goodnight to him, he cuts her off.

"Hey, wanna see something cool?" his eyes light up and she can't help but agree.

"Sure." She nods, throwing her keys back into her purse. "Lead the way, Solo."

 **A/N: So this actually happened to me when I went to see Logan. The speaker blowing, not the date cause I'm a loser . Anyway...see you next week!**


	6. The Place He Proposed

**A/N: YOYOYO! Another installation in this crazy, stupid story of mine. A lot of ideas for future chapters so hold tight!**

He leads her across the street and she smirks when she realizes they are walking right towards a bicycle. "Didn't know you had gone green, Solo." She teases as he leans over to unlock it from the bike rack.

"You're very funny, Miss Rey." He mocks. "Very funny indeed." He swings his long, lean legs over the seat and settles in.

"Do you expect me to run alongside you? Cause I am not Rocky Bal-" she stops short when he pats the handle bars. "Oh, no! That's not happening." She crosses her arms indignantly.

He looks at her pleadingly, "Come on, sunshine." She blushes now at the nickname. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Wearing a helmet." She tosses back.

He cracks a smile at that, "Mhmm. Well that sounds boring." He sets his feet on the petals and starts slowly moving forward.

"Wait!" she shouts franticly. When has she ever gotten to ride the handlebars of a cute guy's bike?

He turns around, smiling, "Yeees?"

"I just…well…you promise not to drop me?" she nibbles her lower lip, looking at him for reassurance. She's eager for adventure but still a little shy about chasing it.

"I promise." He responds in all honesty, holding out his hand to her. She takes it timidly but quickly tightens her grip as he helps her to sit on the handlebars.

"It's not far, is it?" she's traded his hand for the metal bar she sits on, making sure her hold is secure. Her feet dangle on either side of the front wheel and she reminders herself to keep them clear of it.

"Not terribly." He whispers into her ear, his breath sending goosebumps along her skin. He pushes off the petals, slowly starting their journey. He picks up speed quickly but also makes sure not to do anything too crazy. "My dad used to take me out here all the time when I was younger. We'd buy an ice cream from the shop down the street and sit out here at night, sometimes for hours. My mom always chided him for keeping me out so late but you could tell she was just doing it because that's what a good mom should do because she was always hiding a smile. You knew she didn't mind it at all."

Ben's ramblings calm her racing nerves and she settles a little easier onto the handlebar. "Where are they now? Your parents, I mean."

He smiles, taking in the scent of her hair as the wind whips through it, "Once I started college, they moved down to Mexico. My dad isn't a big fan of the cold." The surroundings breeze past, Rey never appreciating how elegant the streets look at night. It's as though they are in a completely different place, a different world. She breathes in the night air, content to never let this moment go, wishing it could go on forever.

Ben eases off the main road, headed down a side street for a bit, leaving the downtown area behind. Old-timey streetlamps spring up, casting long, enchanting shadows behind them. The pair cross though an open gate held up by a fair, yet commanding fence running in both directions. Ben slows down as they near a bridge decorated by strings of lights hung between the posts that line the bridge on either side, casing an extraterrestrial glow on the water running below. Rey eases of the bike, walking slowly forward as she tries to take in the fairytale like scene all around her.

"It's…it's beautiful, Ben. I never knew this was even here." She glides up to the railing, leaning over to catch a better glimpse at the jubilant river below.

"Not many people do." He stands next to her, looking at her while her attention is preoccupied. "Technically, it's private property." He smiles as her head shoots up in terror.

"What…what are we doing here? We should go before we get caught." She starts toward the bike quickly but stops at the sound of his laughter.

"It's okay, Rey. We're allowed to be here. My uncle owns this park…area…place." He walks up to her, taking her hand and guiding her back to the railing.

A blush blazes across her cheeks. "You should have started with that." She pushes his shoulder playfully.

"Sorry. I didn't think you'd freak out so much." He nudges her back. "You seem like someone who's always up for an adventure, legal or not."

She looks up at him, nodding, as comfortable silence settles over them, the sound of the river the only accompaniment to the quiet of the night's symphony.

"This is where my dad proposed." Ben suddenly states, so quiet Rey almost didn't hear him.

Her smile is genuine, "I can see the appeal." She glances over to see he's already staring back. Her smile softens as she takes in his profile. She'll admit he's handsome. And sweet. And humorous. And….and…he leans in to kiss her but she moves her head, his lips meeting her cheek. Her skin explodes with conflicting feelings where his soft skin met hers. "I'm sorry. I just...don't know if I'm ready for-"

"No need to apologize." He smiles but Rey can tell he's hurt. "I should have asked." He folds his hands over the railing. "I will next time." He adds hopefully, staring down at the giggling water below.

Rey smiles and nods, "Yeah, next time." 

**A/N: THEY DIDN'T KISS?! Yeah, yeah just hold on to your lightsabers...see you guys next week!**


	7. Just In Case

When Rey returns from her little escapade with Ben, her roommates are still out. She falls into her bed, happy to not have to answer any questions about her night and content not to think about all that happened throughout it. Soon enough, her quiet snores are bouncing off the greige colored walls.

Her dreams are forgotten as soon as she wakes, rubbing drool from her chin. She fumbles around for her phone and checks the time, thankful that her only class isn't till noon. It's quarter to nine now. She gets up, stretching and bending over to touch her toes. The smell of movie theater popcorn still lingers on her crinkled clothes. She discards them quickly, throwing them into the half empty hamper nearby. As she makes her way to the bathroom, she is surprised to find the dorm empty. She shrugs, assuming the other girls have early classes. She is in fact wrong in her assumption as Phasma bursts through the door, Rey squealing while trying to cover herself with something, and stomps over to her.

"Reyla Satine Kenobi!" she shouts, slamming the door behind her.

Rey, oblivious to why her friend is yelling at her, just looks at her questioningly and a little frightened.

"You totally went on a date last night. I can't believe you ditched us for glitter face!" Phasma's face breaks into a smile.

"Woa! Hold up. I did not go on a date last night, okay? Solo just happened to be there and we just decided to sit next to each other. It was not a date." She points a finger threateningly at her roomate's chest.

Phasma grabs a hold of Rey's shoulders, "Yeah, and he definitely didn't try to kiss you. Why are you denying this connection? You two were practically made for each other."

Rey is a concerned with how much information Phasma seems to know. "I just woke up," she sighs, removing herself from Phasma's grip, "At least let me take a shower before you start bombarding me with this stuff." And she shuffles into the bathroom, shutting the door soundly. She rubs her face vigorously, groaning at the sudden turn of events. "Curse you, Solo." She mumbles, turning on the shower. _Life was much less complicated before you and your stupid face._

As the warm water descends upon her welcoming skin, a myriad of thoughts bombards her, as is the way with showers. Ben was going to kiss her. He did kiss her. She feels her cheek where his lips touched her and butterflies burst within her stomach. Why _is_ she being so weird about this? She hasn't had the best luck with guys but one finally shows some interest in her and she doesn't know how to handle it. She likes him, she really does, she just doesn't know what to do with this liking. She groans, forcefully scrubbing her head with shampoo.

As she's rinsing out the conditioner, she hears a few elated shouts coming from the bedroom. She shuts off the shower, steps out, and wraps herself in a fluffy, black towel. The door quickly opens and shuts as a barely contained ball of excitement pops in. Rey nearly slipped from the intrusion.

"Bee! We've talked about this, you can't just-"

"Ssshhh!" she hurries to Rey, thrusting a pile of clothes into her arms. "He's here. Ben's here for you."

Rey can't say anything. She doesn't understand what Bee's just said. "What?"

"I don't know but just get dressed and get your butt out there. Phasma and I have to go." She winks and exits quickly before Rey can even protest.

The clothes fall from Rey's hands as her towel drops with them and she examines what her crazed roommate picked out for her. She breathes a sigh of relief; at least Bee remembered undergarments. Unfortunately, she didn't do a great job with the outer garments; a t-shirt with a few holes in it that Rey only sleeps in and a pair of jean shorts that are a bit too short for Rey's liking. She doesn't have a choice though and gets dressed quickly, drying her hair as best she can, before exiting the sanctuary of the bathroom. She sees him, Ben, standing over her desk, flipping through some papers.

"Tryin' to cheat?" she muses.

Her voice startles him, making him knock over a cup of pencils that was sitting on the edge. "Sorry." He fumbles with the flowers in his hands as he squats, trying to pick up the writing utensils.

She chuckles, "It's okay. Here." She walks over to help him. Once they get the cup situated again, Rey finally takes a good look at him. He's wearing a button down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black jeans, and his hair is up in a rather attractive man bun. Rey's surprised; he looks very handsome and she feels a little self-conscious about her appearance.

"You clean up rather nice." She comments, bending over to pick up a pair of rogue socks.

"Um…thanks." He says nervously. "Here." He holds out the flowers.

"Oh, thank you." She gathers them up and takes a sniff. "These are beautiful." She looks up at him. He's rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the ground, a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Listen…I um…would…do you" he takes a glance up at her. "Do me?" he finishes awkwardly and his eyes widen when he realizes what he said. "No! Not that." Rey tries to contain a laugh as he stumbles over his words. "Date me! That's what I was trying to ask. Would you like to go out on a proper date with me? I knew I shouldn't have come over so soon after last night, given you your space and all, but I didn't sleep at all last night and I couldn't-"

Rey leans up on her tip-toes and kisses his cheek. "I would love to go out on a date with you."

His face breaks into a smile and Rey knows that she's a goner. "Really?"

"Mhmm." She nods, smelling the flowers again. "When did you have in mind?"

"I uh…I didn't actually think that far ahead. I hadn't imagined you'd say yes." He chuckles nervously.

"Well, Mr. Solo, I'm free tomorrow night. You plan it, I'll be there."

He practically jumps up and down, "You got it, sunshine! I'll…I'll plan the best date ever. Just you wait."

She laughs as he bounds out the door and walks back into the bathroom to fill a glass of water for the flowers. As she sets them on her nightstand, there's a knock on the door. She opens it to find an embarrassed Ben standing there.

"I, uh, forgot to give you this in all my excitement." He hands her a slip of notebook paper. It's his phone number. "Just, you know, in case."

"You are absolutely adorable." She whispers, stepping up and kissing his cheek again as it flares with a blush.

 **A/N: Just a few more chapters before a real kiss ;) sorry not sorry but I promise it's going to be great**


	8. Logan Pt 2

Rey adjusts the sundress for the millionth time and huffs, walking away from the mirror. Ben's supposed to be picking her up in five minutes for their date. He has yet to reveal what he has planned for them though. Apparently Phasma does and in turn told Rey what to wear.

She slips on her sandals, grabs her purse, and sits on her bed, waiting. As a quick afterthought, she plucks a little, white flower from the vase by her bed and slides it snugly behind her ear. She doesn't need to sit for very long as a knock soon sounds at the door. She opens it and smiles as her date does the same.

"Solo." She looks him up and down, finding his appearance pleasing.

"Sunshine." He smiles genuinely. "You look beautiful."

Her eyes dart to the side, a smile spreading across her face, as she slips her arm through his, "Thank you. So what have you planned for us tonight?"

He leads her towards a black, Jeep Wrangler and opens the passenger door for her. "Well, I suppose you'll just have to wait and see."

"Always one for surprises." She muses as he turns on the ignition.

"Always." He smirks back. The drive is quite, neither sure what to talk about, both still surprised that they've ended up where they are.

Rey does her best not to roll her eyes as they pull into the parking lot of a Harkins theater. Before she can even comment anything, Ben speaks.

"I know you aren't fond of these theaters but the movie we're going to see isn't gonna make it to The Screening Room for almost a month plus I've got something else in mind that you can really only do at these big theaters." He smiles to himself as though he's a part of some inside joke.

"Very well. I suppose I can tolerate it for one night." She again slips her arm through his as they walk to the entrance.

"Also, I got snacks taken care of." He whispers, patting the messenger bag that hangs from his shoulder.

"Well, aren't you sneaky." She laughs, knowing if she'd been privy to where they were going before hand, she'd have done the same thing.

Ben pulls two tickets from his pocket and hands them to the waiting recipient.

"Lego Batman Movie is gonna be two down on your left, number thirteen." He drones, tearing their tickets in half. "Enjoy the show."

"No way! Are you serious?" she squeals, squeezing his arm. "Ahhhh, I'm so excited."

He just chuckles, guiding her along, "Come on. We don't want to miss it."

They find their seats, making sure no one's view is blocked, just as the lights begin to dim. Rey can hardly contain her excitement as the movie begins and she scoots down in her chair, snuggling into Ben's arm.

* * *

"That was like the best movie ever!" she's still laughing as they exit with the flow of fellow movie goers. "Thank you so much, Ben." She looks up at him. His previously perfectly styled hair is ruffled up, there is a small flake of popcorn stuck to his lip, and his eyes are aglow with laugher. She realizes that now would be the perfect time for him to kiss her, no matter how many small children are around. She wills him to, just to lean down and take her lips with his. Instead he leads her towards another room, cautiously looking around. There is really no need, none of the employees are paying any attention to them.

"What are we doing?" she whispers as he opens the door. She's movie hopped a few times but doesn't understand why they are doing it now until she hears the unmistakable voice of Hugh Jackman bounce past her.

"Finishing what we started." He smirks, pulling her into the dark walkway. They sneak into the pretty empty room, finding seats near the entrance. The movie is in the middle of the scene about five minutes before the speaker blew on them the other night. Perfect timing.

"You are literally my favorite person right now." She laces her fingers into his.

He just shushes her, smiling at her mock offence.

* * *

The car ride home is accompanied by random comments and theories thrown around about both movies and the laughter that follows most. It's about ten o'clock, the crickets out in full orchestra, as he leads her to her dorm room. She turns at the door to face him, her teeth holding her bottom lip hostage.

"I had a really nice time tonight, Ben." She dares herself to look up at him.

"Yeah," he grins. "Me too."

"So, have you got a second date planned?" her fingers fight with each other behind her back.

"Would you like one?"

She nods, "Very much so."

He leans in and Rey's breath catches, her eyes slip shut as she waits for his lips to meet hers. She's surprise when they land on her cheek. Her lashes flutter open and he takes a step back.

"Goodnight, Rey." And off into the darkness he walks.

 **A/N: A little short, I'm sorry. Next chapter is the one I know a least one person is waiting on. (da kiss) See you guys next week!**


	9. Laser Tag

The six of them, along with a crowd of strangers, file into the dark room lined with the laser tag vests and adjoined guns. Everybody grabs one, slipping it on, and buckling it snugly.

"So we're all on the same team, right?" Bee squeaks. It's her first time playing laser tag and to be honest, she's a little terrified.

Rey responds, fixing Bee's vest so it's facing the right way, "It looks like it's going to be random teams. See the flashing lights on the vest?" she tightens a strap. "At the start of the game, everyone's will turn one solid color; red, blue, or green. Whoever has the same color as you is on your team. Make sense?"

Bee nods, "I just hope I'm on at least one of your guys' team."

"You'll be okay, I promise." She reassures her friend.

An employee steps up to the front of the room, droning on about safety and no running and how the guns all work. Rey is just eager to start playing. He clicks a button and everyone's vest stop flashing, stuck on a solid color. Rey is blue as well as Bee and Poe. Phasma and Ben are both on the red team while Finn is stuck on the green team.

"Ah, come on!" he moans.

Phasma glides up to him, kissing his cheek tenderly. "I promise to go easy on you, babe."

He chuckles, "Yeah, sure. Like that's ever happened before."

She laughs, following Ben into the arena. "You're right. You are so dead meat." And they are both gone. Rey is a little disappointed that her and Ben didn't end up on the same team but at least she can have some bragging rights when her team wins. She jogs into the dark room followed closely by Bee and Poe. She goes straight upstairs to find a good hunting spot. Soon enough, she's shooting, and hitting, many grumpy taggers. She decides to find a new spot and heads down the ramp to the lower level. As she's rounding a corner, someone grabs her arm and spins her into a corner, blocked from sight by a short wall.

She nearly screams. "Ben! God, you scared me." She swats his arm, which is holding her gun away from him.

"Hey. How's it going?" He has her against the wall, his body pressing into hers.

Honestly, it's getting a little hot for her. "Good. I guess." She shallows nervously.

"I was just curious…would now be an okay time to kiss you?" he whispers into her ear, moving his face to sit just inches from her. The low lighting plays with his eyes, making them dance. She just smiles and nods. His lips are on her instantly but not crushing them. It's a soft embrace, one that makes her feel safe. It's sweet and lingering and…and…

"DID YOU JUST FRICKING SHOOT ME?" she pushes him away from her, his laughter taunting her as he turns on his heels.

"All is fair in love and war, sunshine." He blows her a kiss as he disappears.

"You are so dead, Solo!" she shouts chasing after him, her own laughter bubbling up. As soon as her gun is back online, she fires at him. He rounds a corner before her laser can tag him but she sneaks up and around the wall. A small window sits behind him that she lines up her gun in. He's squatting, glancing around the edge to find her. She shoots and his vest goes down.

"Smooth, Kenobi." He laughs, standing and jogging out of his hiding spot. "Come out, come out wherever you are and I'll give you another kiss." As soon as his vest lights back up, Rey shoots and hits him again.

"I like this better." She shouts, before taking off back up the ramp. She rushes behind a stack of blocks and waits for Ben. He takes the assent slowly, keeping an eye on upper level ridge. She jumps out, shoots, and hollers in triumph. "So much better." She teases.

Finn sneaks up behind her, hitting her in the back, laughing at her utter despair.

"Traitor!" she yells, chasing after him. She doesn't get a chance to enact her revenge as all the vests go down and a voice over loudspeaker instructs them to return to the exit and put away their vests.

Ben knocks his shoulder into hers, "Remind me never to get on your bad side, yeah?"

"Just don't make it a habit of shooting me after you kiss me." She slips off her vest, placing it back on the rack. "Oh, now's the best part!" she claps her hands. "Scorecards."

Bee glides up to her, "What are scorecards?"

"We get to see who shot the most people, who got shot the most, the best shot, etcetera."

"Oh, cool." Bee unclips the vest, returning it to the rack.

Rey links arms with her shorter friend, "So did you like it?"

"Yeah, it was fun. Not sure I'd do it again though. Not really my thing." She shrugs.

The group gathers outside, looking up at the screen projecting the scores.

"Who was who?" Ben calls out and points up, reaching around to hold onto Rey hand. "I was Ren. I can live with third place."

"Droid-bait." Bee looks and breaks into a smile. "I'm not last place!"

"Best shot." Phasma gloats.

"Your name was Red Cloak?" Finn chuckles.

"Better than Bucket Head." She retorts.

"Ace. Fifth place. Not bad." Poe muses.

"What were you Rey?" Ben pulls her into his side.

She smirks, "AT-AT."

Ben drops his arm from her waist, "How did you get first place?"

She pulls him down and pecks his lips, "What can I say? I kick ass in laser tag." 

**A/N: YAAAAA! They finally kissed! Sorry this chapter was late. I got sick . but now I'm back!  
Please join the Review Campaign today and drop your support in that little box! **


	10. Just Fine

**A/N: Another installation. Enjoy!**

The burnt, angry coffee sits dejectedly next to Rey's left hand as she types furiously, trying to finish the last of her essays due tomorrow. Faint snores resound from the bedroom where Bee and Phasma have already retired. They don't have any stupid essays to finish because they don't have a crazy professor by the name of Snoke piling on a crap ton of work in the last week of finals. She's so focused on the words in front of her, she doesn't hear the knocking. It's her phone buzzing next to her that breaks her out of the zone.

"Hello?" she cradles it between her shoulder and cheek, continuing with her report.

 _"Hey, sunshine. You wanna open the door?"_

"Ben?" she hangs up the phone and practically stumbles to the door, swinging it open. "What are you doing? It's like midnight."

"Actually, it's quarter to one." He smirks.

She just scowls, "And what are you doing here? I've still got a ton of work to do."

He shrugs, "I'm here to help. I brought caffeine." He holds out a cup carrier with three paper coffee cups and a Monster energy drink.

She motions him in, "Fine. But no distractions."

"How could I possibly distract you?" he leans down and pecks her lips.

"Careful, Solo. I'll kick you out and keep the coffee." She slumps back in her chair, grabbing one of the coffees. "Mmm. How did you get this so late?"

He chuckles, easing down onto the floor next to her desk. "I may or may not have an espresso machine in my dorm."

"And you are just now deciding to tell me this?" she leans back, sipping the vanilla latte.

"How much more work do you have?" he gets up on his knees, peaking over her shoulder at her laptop screen.

"Just have to finish the last of the essays for Snoke. Shouldn't take me more than another hour."

He chokes on his coffee, "Essays? As in plural?"

"Oh, Ben." She tries to hold back a laugh. "We had three."

"You got an extra laptop?" he gulps.

Rey stands and grabs Bee's from the floor where it was charging, "Here, you can use this one but no cheating."

"Thanks." He takes the laptop gratefully. "But what am I supposed to write about?"

"Oh, please. You'll think of something. You are Snoke's favorite student." She takes a long drink of her coffee.

"Psshh. Not anymore. He offered me a job as his teaching assistant but I declined. I've got enough going on and he's kinda creepy, with that weird scar and everything. He wasn't too pleased." His eyes widen at the memory and Rey laughs.

"He can't be that bad, right? I mean he's a tough professor but he can't be a bad guy, right?" she abandons her computer, swiveling her chair around to face him, and crosses her arms.

"I don't know. I've heard some sketchy stories. But forget that. We got to get these essays finished."

Rey smiles and returns to her keyboard. "Yeah, unfortunately. It's so stupid. Bee and Phasma's professors didn't cram their week with unnecessary work."

"After this semester, I'm thinking about dropping his class. It honestly isn't that crucial to my degree." He shrugs. "Plus, my dad says this guy is bad news. Just more stories to add to the pile."

"Mmmm." She hums, concentrating on her work.

"Right. Essays." He hunkers down and begins typing.

* * *

After another hour, the two can hardly keep their eyes open. Rey just manages to finish her essay, Ben not so much, but at the moment he couldn't care less. He just stretches out, yawning, and closes the laptop, setting it off to the side.

"I'd better get going." His eyelids drop closed before he pops them back open.

"I don't trust you to get home safely, even if your dorm is only a block away." She stands and grabs a pillow off the couch. "You can sleep over if you want."

"Yeah?" his eyes widen.

She tosses the pillow at him roughly, "Yeah, but no funny business. Just sleeping."

He grins, "You got it, sunshine."

She crawls into her bed, eyes fluttering shut. They shoot open when she feels his body slide in next to her and his arm drabs across her protectively. "I sort of meant the couch, Ben."

"Oh…I'm sorry. I thought with-"

She squeezes his hand, "It's okay. This is nice." And her eyes close as sleep overpowers her.

* * *

Ben wakes first, Rey snuggled into his side. He smiles, relishing the moment. He leans down and kisses her forehead. "Rey Kenobi, I'm afraid I may be falling in love with you." He whispers into her sleeping ear.

Her nose crinkles and her eyes flutter softly as her arms stretch out. She does this quite quickly and effectively smacks Ben in the face which causes him to slip off the bed. At the thump and resounding laughter, Rey awakes fully and looks down at him wide eyed. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? Did I do that?" He just gets up on his knees as pulls her down for a kiss. "I guess you're alright."

"I might need a few more kisses to make it better." He smirks.

Rey pushes his chest away, "Yeah, you're just fine."


End file.
